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18 answers

It can go either way depending on the charge in the cloud and the charge on the ground. Lightning works the same way as a static charge between your finger and another object. Either the cloud grows a large charge which jumps to the ground when it is big enough to defeat the resistance of the air which is a poor conductor or when the high charge is on the ground it will jump up to the cloud.

2006-08-18 16:25:02 · answer #1 · answered by icetender 3 · 0 0

Essentially, yes. Basically the beginning of a lightning bolt is a growing differential in voltage from the clouds to the ground. Since both are oppositely charged, there will be points where there will be an electrical arc (lightning).

Leaders come up from the ground (these ghostly bolts are barely visible, but have been photographed coming off lightning rods and trees) to the clouds, and these faint leaders make the path for the bolt to travel. So while the bolt you see does come down from the clouds, it was started by a leader coming up from the ground to meet the clouds.

This is also part of the reason why people often say that their hair was standing on end from static electricity right before lightning strikes close by - if that ever happens you want to seek shelter fast because something close by is going to be hit.

2006-08-18 23:25:30 · answer #2 · answered by Schrecken 3 · 0 0

Technically yes. The bolt doesn't normally, but the leader does. The leader is basically a tracking mechanism for lightning to follow, it traces from a point on the ground up to the cloud and the lightning follows that track back down. It usually happens to fast to be seen with the naked eye.

2006-08-18 23:22:12 · answer #3 · answered by ? 4 · 0 0

Yes. The ground and clouds are oppositely charged. The beginning of the current wanting to make a connection comes from the ground and is often met part way up to the clouds by a current coming down to meet it. The lightning you see is the by product of this electrical current.

2006-08-18 23:33:43 · answer #4 · answered by Sue W 3 · 1 0

Hehehe. Interesting. Many of each.

Electrons travel from the ground 'upwards' to clouds which have a net positive charge caused by wind friction (same as the friction in a static or Van de Graff generator) and the negative charges tend to combine with free hydroxyl (OH+) radicals. (Yes, water vapor breaks down at the rate of 1 part in 10^7, just like liquid water does)


Doug

2006-08-18 23:26:53 · answer #5 · answered by doug_donaghue 7 · 0 1

BS and lightning just hit the tree across the street from the top
of the trunk down the side of it to the middle base of the tree.
your answer is no.

2006-08-18 23:20:53 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

This is, in fact, true. This is why people who are struck by lightning will feel their hair standing up, etc. They're building up the charge.

2006-08-18 23:21:42 · answer #7 · answered by Claude 4 · 0 0

I'm pretty sure there is differen ttypes of lightning like, cloud to cloud can you guess where that comes from? then there' cloud to ground lightning . and then there's lightning that pretty much just goes where it wants.

2006-08-18 23:22:20 · answer #8 · answered by nubbins4real@yahoo.com 1 · 0 0

YES, YES it is and there also is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. LOL. Honestly, that sound like something bobby Boucher would say.

2006-08-18 23:30:13 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

That's right ...a lot of things we see are opposite with the fact like...water always fall down but first it has to evaporate to the sky before it rain...right ?

2006-08-18 23:23:27 · answer #10 · answered by Duke 5 · 0 0

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